Padres GM motivated by need vs. cost of deals

Chicago White Sox right fielder Carlos Quentin dives to make the catch a fly ball hit by Texas Rangers' Craig Gentry during the first inning of a baseball game in Chicago, on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
— AP

Chicago White Sox right fielder Carlos Quentin dives to make the catch a fly ball hit by Texas Rangers' Craig Gentry during the first inning of a baseball game in Chicago, on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
/ AP

At the time, the D-Backs were top-heavy with young outfield talent. Four years later, Byrnes has finally stanched his seller’s remorse (going so far as to talk trade via text message while waiting in line at Disneyland on his daughter’s birthday).

“There was good outfield play in Arizona after (Quentin left), but what was most missed was the intensity and the attitude that he brings,” Byrnes said. “Quentin has played in two All-Star games, but as much as anything there’s an intensity — a beat-the-opponent side to Carlos — that maybe some players don’t have.

“He gets hit by a lot of pitches, fearlessly, slides hard into second base. I just think he plays the game to win and to compete, not to socialize.”

Because Quentin is eligible for arbitration, and could command a 2012 salary in the $7 million range, he carries some symbolic value beyond his presence and his performance. A team building toward a distant tomorrow seldom trades pitching prospects for a pricey player one season short of free agency.

Perhaps the Padres are kidding themselves, but acquiring Quentin says they expect to be taken seriously.

“I’m committed to building a team that can win every year and that can sustain success,” Moorad said. “Padres fans and the city of San Diego deserve that. We will get there together.”

Maybe so, but the path will probably be serpentine instead of straightforward. Six months ago, Anthony Rizzo was seen as a savior — the budget-friendly replacement for Adrian Gonzalez. Now, Rizzo’s another overhyped prospect in need of a shorter swing, sent packing presumably because it was pointless to pretend he was competing at first base with Yonder Alonso.

The beauty of the deal, though, is that it enables Padres fans to debate it strictly on baseball terms. While it’s not often advisable to trade a top prospect following his first brush with failure, Andrew Cashner’s fastball has been clocked as fast as 101 miles per hour. Bottom line: a surplus first baseman has enabled the Padres to fill a late-inning bullpen void.

It’s too soon to say whether Byrnes has acted wisely. That he has acted aggressively, however, is clear. Also comforting.